Story:
Two Great White Sharks Found Swimming in Kentucky Lake
Other Versions
Two Great White Sharks Found Swimming in Laurel Lake Near London, Kentucky
Fact Check:
Somewhat scary story in circulation online claims about two Great White Sharks Found Swimming in Kentucky Lake. It also carries a picture allegedly showing the two great white sharks found swimming in Laurel Lake near London, Kentucky. No, as explained below, the story is not true.
No White Sharks Found Swimming in Kentucky Lake
The story originated from an article on React365 website react365.com with a breaking headline and below content:
While it is not entirely impossible, it is incredibly uncommon for salt water dwelling creatures to stay for lengthy periods of time in fresh water. However, two Great White Sharks have managed to survive the trip and make their way up the Laurel River somehow and is now in Laurel Lake. Believed to have started as a mating couple, the two are assumed to have swam the 920-mile journey from the mouth of the Mississippi River that is connected to the Gulf Of Mexico. Officials in London have contacted the Kentucky Conservation Department and will likely have a team on the lake soon to capture the two lost sharks.
Firstly, the picture that comes with the story does not even appear to show two white sharks. It is in fact an old one that appeared on Flickr in Feb. 2008 and showed a Bull Shark in Rio Sirena River Mouth. Moreover, React365 is an entertainment-based prank website publishing user-generated content. At the bottom of their website, they carry the below ‘about’ description which clarifies the same:
This website is an entertainment website, jokes are created by users. These are humourous jokes, fantasy, fictional, that should not be seriously taken or as a source of information.
Similar Story in Past
Earlier in June 2017 also React365 website react365.com published somewhat similar story with headline “Bull shark spotted in Kentucky lake“. The article only read:
Coast Guard Officials have determined that a 9 foot Bull Shark was identified in Kentucky Lake. A team of marine scientists are flying in from Florida to capture and study it.
Back then the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources issued a statement calling it a fake news. They also reassured the public that swimming in Kentucky is not going to produce a Jaws-like encounter. The department also said it posts real fish and wildlife news on their Facebook page and on website fw.ky.gov.
So, coming back to the original story again, the claim that two Great White Sharks found Swimming in Kentucky Lake is a hoax originating from a prank website.
Hoax or Fact:
Hoax.
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